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11/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 11TH

2013 Charles Pope (of The Tams) dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at age 76 in Jonesboro, Georgia.

2011 Rob Grill of The Grass Roots dies at 67.

2002 Over 200 people attend the funeral for Who bassist John Entwistle in St. Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England. Entwistle was found dead in his Las Vegas hotel room on June 27th.

2001 Facing a flurry of lawsuits, the file-sharing service Napster shuts down, but not before transforming the music industry away from physical product like CDs and toward digital downloads, which eventually leads to streaming.

1995 George Michael signs a two-album deal split among two labels: Virgin in the UK and Dreamworks SKG in America. As part of the deal, Sony Records is paid $40 million to release Michael from his contract; after releasing his 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, he refused to record for the label and filed a lawsuit seeking release from his contract, which he lost.

1994 The Rolling Stones release Voodoo Lounge, with the tracks "Love Is Strong" and "You Got Me Rocking."

1992 Jerry Garcia, who has a passion for painting and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, introduces a line of neckties he designed.

1991 Longtime songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager get divorced.

1989 Roger Christian, who wrote lyrics to the Beach Boys songs "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Don't Worry Baby," dies at 57.

1989 Miami Sound Machine lead singer Gloria Estefan releases her first solo album, Cuts Both Ways, with the hits "Don't Wanna Lose You" and "Get on Your Feet."

1981 Hubert Johnson of The Contours dies by su***de at age 40.

1979 The space station Skylab crashes to Earth after six years in space. Leading up to the event, Electric Light Orchestra take out ads in trade magazines dedicating their new single, "Don't Bring Me Down," to Skylab.

1976 Frank Sinatra marries for the fourth time, this time to Barbara Marx, former wife of the Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx.

1976 Andy Gibb marries his girlfriend Kim Reeder in Australia.

1971 The first stage performance of Jesus Christ, Superstar takes place in Pittsburgh.

1970 The soundtrack to the film Woodstock hits #1 in America, helping recoup massive losses from the festival.

1970 Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not To Come" hits #1 in America.

1969 David Bowie's "Space Oddity" single is rush-released to beat the moon landing, which happens nine days later.

1969 The Rolling Stones release "H***y Tonk Women."

1966 Elvis Presley begins filming his 24th motion picture, Double Trouble.

1962 The Marvelettes release "Beechwood 4-5789."

1960 The Hollywood Argyles' "Alley Oop" hits #1 in America.

1959 Guitarist Richie Sambora is born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He joins Bon Jovi soon after the band form and becomes a primary songwriter along with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. Sambora says with the band until 2013, when he leaves in the middle of a tour for personal reasons.

1951 On WJW in Cleveland, Alan Freed broadcasts his first "Moondog House Rock and Roll Party," marking the first radio show with the phrase "Rock and Roll" and giving Freed a claim on the origin of the term. More importantly, Freed plays R&B music, which introducing the sound to a new (and mostly white) audience.

1950 Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters is born in Oakland, California.

1947 Jeff Hanna of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is born in Detroit, Michigan.

1946 Dean Martin begins his recording career mere weeks before teaming up with nightclub comic Jerry Lewis.

10/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 10TH

2016 Rick Astley releases 50, his first album of original songs in 15 years, in the UK. It goes to #1 its first week.

2009 Barry Beckett, record producer and session musician of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, dies in Hendersonville, Tennessee, at age 66.

2007 In the last scene of the HBO series The Sopranos, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey plays on the jukebox while Tony Soprano sits at a diner. It cuts to black on the line, "Don't Stop."

2005 Ottawa Governor General Adrienne Clarkson officially makes Paul Anka an Officer of the Order of Canada.

2004 Ray Charles dies at age 73 of liver disease.

1998 Joe Walsh, Graham Nash and Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath play a celebrity version of Rock & Roll Jeopardy! that airs in October on VH1. McGrath wins big. The next season he defeats Edwin McCain and Joshua Morrow; the following year he defends his crown against Mick Jones and Vince Neil.

1992 Model Kelly Emberg has her palimony suit against Rod Stewart thrown out.

1991 In his first public appearance since being released from prison in February, James Brown stars in the pay-per-view concert special James Brown: Living in America. For $19.95, viewers can see Brown perform at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles along with MC Hammer, Bell Biv DeVoe, C+C Music Factory, Kool Moe Dee and En Vogue.

1991 Temptation David Ruffin's funeral is held in Detroit, with attendees including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and former bandmate Eddie Kendricks, who is arrested at the service for failure to pay child support.

1986 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band celebrates its 20th anniversary with a concert in their hometown of Denver, Colorado.

1982 R&B singer Addie "Micki" Harris (of The Shirelles) dies at age 42 after suffering a heart attack during a performance in Atlanta, Georgia.

1978 John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's Grease duet "You're The One That I Want" hits #1 in the US.

1976 Paul McCartney and Wings set a new indoor concert attendance record of 67,100 at the newly-opened Kingdome in Seattle.

1975 The Eagles release their fourth album, One Of These Nights. It includes "Take It to the Limit," one of the few Eagles songs with a lead vocal by Randy Meisner.

1973 R&B singer Faith Evans is born in Lakeland, Florida.

1972 Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "The Candy Man" hits #1 in America and stays for three weeks. The song debuted a year earlier in the movie Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, sung by the candy store owner character. Davis wanted nothing to do with it but was convinced to record it. To his chagrin, it became his signature song.

1971 Elvis Presley records "My Way," and "I'll Be Home On Christmas Day."

1971 Police fire tear gas into the rowdy crowd at the Jethro Tull concert in Denver, but the band continues playing even though some of them have trouble seeing their instruments.

1970 Earl Grant, a pop singer known for hits like "Ebb Tide" throughout the '50s and '60s, dies in a car accident in Lordsburg, New Mexico, at age 39.

1969 With his father Jerry Lewis as guest host, Gary Lewis performs "This Diamond Ring" on The Tonight Show with his band Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

1967 The Monkees record "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

1967 Stevie Wonder releases "I Was Made To Love Her."

1967 Outdoor rock: California's Magic Mountain Music Festival, considered the first rock music festival, features Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and The Byrds - the crowd of 15,000 is dwarfed by the 200,000 at the Monterey Pop Festival the following weekend.

1966 Steve Marriott of Small Faces collapses while performing on the British show Ready Steady Go!, forcing the band to cancel a week of shows.

1966 Janis Joplin makes her singing debut with Big Brother & the Holding Company at San Francisco's Avalon Ballroom.

1964 Elvis Presley records "Puppet On A String," "The Meanest Girl In Town," and "Girl Happy."

1958 Elvis Presley records "I Need Your Love Tonight," "A Big Hunk O' Love," "Ain't That Loving You, Baby?," and "A Fool Such As I."

1941 Janet Vogel (soprano singer of The Skyliners) is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1941 Shirley Owens Alston of The Shirelles is born in Henderson, North Carolina.

1922 Judy Garland is born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. A few years later, her family moves to California and she becomes a child star, playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she's 17.

09/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 9TH

2025 Sly Stone dies from COPD at 82. With his group Sly & the Family Stone he brought lively funk grooves to the charts with songs like "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" and "I Want To Take You Higher." The band fell apart in the mid-'70s when he battled drug addiction, and Stone remained reclusive and erratic the rest of his life, sabotaging various comeback opportunities.

1998 At a show in San Rafael, California, Steve Augeri debuts as lead singer of Journey, who have parted ways with Steve Perry because he's unable to tour. He's later replaced by Arnel Pineda as the band soldiers on into the 2020s. Perry never returns to the band, which is anchored by their founding member, guitarist Neal Schon.

1987 At Gay Head in Martha's Vineyard, Carly Simon plays the first of two shows that are recorded for her HBO special Carly Simon - Coming Around Again. It's her first concert appearance since 1980, when her tour was truncated by stage fright and exhaustion.

1978 Dire Straits release their self-titled debut album in the UK. The single "Sultans Of Swing" takes off, and the album ends up going Platinum in several territories, including America.

1977 George and Pattie Harrison's divorce is finalized.

1972 After several years playing the New Jersey bar scene, Bruce Springsteen signs with Columbia Records and begins recording his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

1971 Paul McCartney's second solo album, Ram, is certified Gold.

1970 Bob Dylan receives an honorary Doctorate of Music from Princeton University.

1967 Dean Felber (bass guitarist for Hootie & the Blowfish) is born in Bethesda, Maryland.

1966 Elvis Presley's movie Paradise, Hawaiian Style is sneak-previewed in Memphis (it opens nationally a month later).

1963 Johnny Depp is born in Kentucky. He stars in the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers video for "Into The Great Wide Open," and plays guitar on tracks by Oasis, Patti Smith and Ryan Adams.

1963 Andy Williams is the mystery guest on TV's What's My Line.

1962 Tony Bennett plays Carnegie Hall in New York for the first time.

1949 George Bunnell (bass and rhythm guitarist for The Strawberry Alarm Clock) is born.

1941 Jon Lord, keyboard player for Deep Purple and Whitesnake, is born in Leicester, England.

1934 Jackie Wilson is born in Detroit, Michigan.

08/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 8TH

2020 Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters dies of a heart attack at 69.

2010 Olivia Newton-John plays a celebrity judge on the Glee episode "Journey To Regionals."

2003 Billy Joel wins a Tony Award for the orchestration of his Broadway musical Movin' Out.

1991 Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound, hits #1 in America. The ballad "Rush, Rush" and the rosy "The Promise of a New Day" both go to #1 on the Hot 100.

1991 Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa get married. They have three children together.

1985 Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" hits #1 in the US for the first of two weeks.

1984 Bruce Springsteen plays a surprise gig at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, going on after the scheduled act to warm up for his Born In The U.S.A. tour.

1979 Guitarist Derek Trucks is born in Jacksonville, Florida. After forming The Derek Trucks Band, he serves in The Allman Brothers Band from 1999-2014 alongside his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks.

1974 Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band On The Run" hits #1.

1974 Rick Wakeman departs Yes for a solo career, returns two years later, and leaves again after four years.

1969 The Rolling Stones fire founding member Brian Jones, whose relationship with his bandmates has deteriorated beyond repair. Brian Jones tells the press he is leaving to "play my kind of music." Less than a month later, he is found dead at his home.

1966 Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In The Night" hits #1 on the UK singles chart.

1963 Marvin Gaye, 24, marries 41-year-old Anna Gordy, the daughter of Berry Gordy, his boss at Motown Records. They get divorced in 1977.

1962 Skeeter Davis records "The End of the World."

1962 Nick Rhodes (keyboardist for Duran Duran) is born Nicholas James Bates in Birmingham, England. He is instrumental in the band's success, introducing them to both the analogue synthesizer sound that becomes their signature and also driving them to focus on making creative music videos.

1961 Elvis Presley's movie Wild In The Country premieres in Memphis.

1960 Mick Hucknall (lead singer of Simply Red) is born in Manchester, England.

1959 Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" reaches its chart peak of #2 in America. His next single is something quite different: a song about a murderous cad called "Mack The Knife." That one goes to #1.

1959 The Clovers record "Love Potion #9."

1953 Jeff "Worzel" Rich (drummer for Status Quo, The Climax Blues Band) is born in Hackney, London, England.

1953 Bonnie Tyler is born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Neath, Wales.

1944 Boz Scaggs is born William Royce Scaggs in Canton, Ohio.

1942 Chuck Negron (of Three Dog Night) is born in Manhattan, New York.

1940 Nancy Sinatra is born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her parents are Frank Sinatra and his wife Nancy Barbato. Nancy Jr. becomes a singer like her dad, and in 1966 has a #1 hit with "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'."

1936 Teen idol James Darren is born James William Ercolani in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He rises to fame playing Moondoggie alongside Sandra Dee's Gidget and releases a string of pop records like the 1961 hit "Goodbye Cruel World."

07/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 7TH

2022 The only copy of Bob Dylan's newly recorded "Blowin' In The Wind" sells at auction for £1,482,000 ($1.7 million). Dylan recorded it with producer T Bone Burnett and the song was pressed to a disc in Burnett's new format, Ionic Original, which is made of aluminium but plays on a turntable.

2009 After a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, Michael Jackson's public funeral is held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Most TV networks cover the event, where Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Andrae Crouch Choir, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jennifer Hudson, Magic Johnson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Brooke Shields, Usher and Stevie Wonder all participate.

2009 Lionel Richie got his first big break when The Commodores snagged 42 dates in the opening slot for The Jackson 5 in 1972. Thirty-seven years later on the same date, he performs The Commodores song "Jesus is Love" at a memorial service for the late Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

2006 Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett dies at age 60.

2001 Fred Neil, a folk singer-songwriter known for writing Harry Nilsson's hit "Everybody's Talkin'," dies during a battle with skin cancer at age 65.

1998 Along with his financial partner Don Barden, Michael Jackson announces plans to build an entertainment complex in Detroit called "The Majestic Kingdom." It never materializes.

1992 Spinal Tap cap their reunion tour with a sold-out show at Royal Albert Hall in London.More

1984 "When Doves Cry" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, giving Prince his first chart-topper on the tally. The song is from his upcoming movie Purple Rain.

1980 In West Berlin, Led Zeppelin play their last concert with drummer John Bonham, who dies in September.

1977 Styx tie in with the date (7-7-77) by releasing their 7th album, The Grand Illusion.

1969 John Lennon releases "Give Peace A Chance" in the US, a song he and Yoko, along with a chorus of guests, recorded at their "bed-in" in a Montreal hotel room.

1973 Paul McCartney & Wings release "Live And Let Die."

1973 Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round In Circles" hits #1 in America.

1971 Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of ABBA are married in Verum, Sweden (it lasts eight years).

1968 The folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary appear as the "mystery guest" on CBS-TV's What's My Line?

1968 The Yardbirds disband immediately after a gig in Luton, England. Jimmy Page begins forming what will become Led Zeppelin.

1968 The Yardbirds perform their final gig in Luton, England.

1963 Vonda Shepard is born in New York, but will be raised in California.

1962 David Rose's "The Stripper" hits #1.

1956 A riot breaks out at a Fats Domino concert in San Jose, California, with twelve injured.

1956 The Platters release "My Prayer."

1948 Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt (guitarist for Iron Butterfly) is born in Florida.

1947 David Hodo (Village People construction worker) is born in Palo Alto, California.

1944 Warren Entner (guitarist for The Grass Roots) is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1941 Jim Rodford (bass guitarist for Argent, The Kinks) is born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.

1940 Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is born Richard Starkey in Liverpool, England. He has a run of solo hits in the '70s that includes "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph," but he doesn't tour until 1989, when he introduces his All Starr Band.

1936 Tommy Dee, known for the 1959 hit "Three Stars," a tribute to the late Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, is born in Vicker, Virginia.

1924 Mary Ford is born Iris Colleen Summers in El Monte, California.

04/07/2025

Happy Independence Day!

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 4TH

2014 The first Beatles movie, A Hard Day's Night, is re-released in American theaters to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

2009 Allen Klein, an influential music publisher who simultaneously managed The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, dies of respiratory failure at age 77 after years of diabetes-related complications and an Alzheimer's diagnosis.

2009 Drake Levin (guitarist for Paul Revere and the Raiders) dies of cancer at age 62.

2008 The movie Mamma Mia!, featuring the music of ABBA and based on the musical, opens in Sweden where the group attends the screening, briefly reuniting Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Agnetha Faltskog.

2007 Bill Pinkney (of The Drifters) dies of a heart attack at age 81.

2005 Rockabilly entertainer "Big" Al Downing dies of leukemia at age 65.

2003 Barry White, age 58, dies two months after suffering a severe stroke while awaiting a kidney transplant.

2002 Michael Abram, the man who attacked and nearly murdered George Harrison some 19 months earlier, is given a conditional release by a Mental Health Review Tribunal, to the fury of George's widow, Olivia. Says Abram: "If I could turn back the clock I would give anything not to have done what I did. But I have come to realise that I was very ill at that time, really not in control."

1992 John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas receives a liver transplant in Los Angeles.

1987 Genesis close out their Invisible Tour with a sold-out show at Wembley Stadium in London. They played the venue the previous three nights as well, also to sell-out crowds.

1987 John Fogerty headlines a Vietnam veterans' benefit concert at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland broadcast by HBO. Performers include Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder and Kris Kristofferson.

1986 Run-DMC release their rap version of "Walk This Way" featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, the group that released the original version in 1975. It's the first major collaboration between rappers and rockers, proof positive that the styles can work together. Both groups get a huge boost when the song becomes a hit; for Aerosmith, it launches a comeback.

1985 Dire Straits play the first of 14 consecutive nights at Wembley Arena in London. On Day 10 of the residency (July 13), they first play an afternoon set across the parking lot at Wembley Stadium as part of Live Aid.

1984 Ringo Starr sits in with The Beach Boys during their Miami concert.

1984 Jack Wagner, in character as Frisco Jones, sings the ballad "All I Need" on the soap opera General Hospital. The song is released as a single and climbs to #2, making Wagner the second cast member on the show to become a real-life musician, following Rick Springfield.

1982 Neil Diamond sees the movie E.T. along with the songwriters Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. That night, they write the song "Heartlight" based on the film.

1980 500,000 attend a free Beach Boys concert in Washington DC.

1977 Blondie bassist Gary Valentine quits the band.

1976 Paul Revere is married during the intermission of his concert at King's Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati on America's bicentennial.

1974 Barry White marries Glodean James of Love Unlimited.

1974 Steely Dan (Walter Becker and Donald Fagan) give up live performing after a show in Santa Monica so they can focus on studio work, including the album Katy Lied. They don't tour again until 1993.

1974 The Tony Orlando & Dawn TV show debuts on CBS.

1972 William Goldsmith (drummer for Foo Fighters) is born in Seattle, Washington.

1971 Following a week-long celebration with performances by Santana, The Grateful Dead, Boz Scaggs and several other acts that played there since it opened in 1968, San Francisco's Fillmore West concert hall closes.

1971 R&B singer Don McPherson (of The Main Ingredient) dies of leukemia at age 29.

1970 Casey Kasem debuts the radio show American Top 40, where he counts down the Billboard hits (the #1 song: "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night). He hosts the show until 2004, when Ryan Seacrest takes over.

1969 Grand Funk Railroad, which formed just a few months earlier, play to a huge crowd at the Atlanta Pop Festival. Lead singer Mark Farner sheds his shirt because of the heat and gets such a reaction from the crowd that he decides to play every show shirtless.

1966 The Beatles play two shows in the Philippines, first in the afternoon to a crowd of 30,000, then in the evening to another 50,000. They fly to India the next day.

1966 The Lovin' Spoonful release "Summer In The City."

1964 The Beach Boys score their first #1 hit as "I Get Around" tops the Hot 100, where it stays for two weeks.

1964 Millie Small, part of the British Invasion, reaches #2 in America with "My Boy Lollipop."

1964 The Rolling Stones appear on the BBC's Juke Box Jury show as panelists, where they pass judgment on various records. A review in The Daily Sketch calls them "gum-chewing, ill-mannered, ill-humoured, illiberal and illogical jurors."

1958 INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly is born in Kew, Victoria, Australia.

1955 Gene Vincent's leg is crushed when his motorcycle is struck by a car in Franklin, Virginia.

1952 John Waite (lead vocalist, bass guitarist of The Babys and lead vocalist of Bad English) is born in Lancaster, Lancashire, England.

195 1Ralph Johnson (drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1948 Jeremy Spencer (guitarist, pianist for Fleetwood Mac) is born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England.

1943 Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (guitarist, harmonica player for Canned Heat) is born in Arlington, Massachusetts.

1940 Dave Rowberry (keyboardist for The Animals) is born in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, England.

1938 Bill Withers is born in Slab Fork, West Virginia.

1911 Mitch Miller, an influential A&R executive at Columbia Records throughout the '50s and '60s, is born in Rochester, New York. Signed Aretha Franklin to her first record deal.

1828 "Hail to the Chief" is performed by the United States Marine Band for President John Quincy Adams during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

03/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 3RD

2021 Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton get married at Shelton's ranch in Oklahoma. They met in 2014 when they were judges on the TV show The Voice and started dating a year later.

2011 Unable to walk since a botched operation two years earlier, Little Richard is wheeled in with a piano to perform at the "A Capitol Fourth" concert at the National Mall in Washington, DC. It's his first performance since the operation.

2008 Colin Cooper (leader of Climax Blues Band) dies of cancer at age 69.

2001 Delia Derbyshire, who helped create the electronic sounds on the Doctor Who theme, dies aged 64.

1996 Cliff Richard leads the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay. His backing singers are former tennis stars Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlíková, Pam Shriver, Liz Smylie, Gigi Fernández and Conchita Martinez.

1986 Bono's 26-year-old personal assistant Greg Carroll is killed in a motorcycle act while running an errand in Dublin. U2's next album, The Joshua Tree, is dedicated to Carroll, who inspired the song "One Tree Hill."

1985 Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as a time-traveling teenager, opens in theaters. When he plays "Johnny B. Goode" in 1955 at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, he gives birth to rock and roll. In the real-life present, a new generation gets a lesson in Chuck Berry from the scene.

1976 At a show in Anaheim, California, Brian Wilson appears onstage with The Beach Boys for the first time in 12 years.

1975 Labelle is the first Black vocal group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. Donning sexy space-age costumes, the "Lady Marmalade" hitmakers are given the tagline "Comin' Comin' Comin' To Getcha."

1975 Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron is arrested in his hotel room and charged with co***ne possession on the opening night of a tour.

1973 At the Hammersmith Odeon in London, David Bowie appears as Ziggy Stardust for the last time, explaining: "Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do." Many take this to mean Bowie was retiring from music altogether, though Bowie just means he is retiring Stardust. This show is later made into a movie directed by D.A. Pennebaker called Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.

1971 Jim Morrison of The Doors is found dead in a bathtub at age 27. No autopsy is performed, and while drugs are suspected, the official cause is listed as "heart attack induced by respiratory problems."

1969 Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones is found dead in his swimming pool in England. The death is ruled accidental, although Jones, 27, has high levels of alcohol in his blood.

1965 The Beach Boys Summer Spectacular tour stops at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. This date includes performances by The Byrds, Sonny & Cher, The Righteous Brothers, and of course, The Beach Boys. Also on the bill: The Kinks, who are having a miserable time in America and at war with their manager Larry Page, who flies back to England the next day.

1960 Muddy Waters brings the blues to a wider audience with a riveting performance at the Newport Jazz Festival punctuated by his rendition of "Got My Mojo Working."

1952 Bass guitarist/vocalist Andy Fraser (of Free) is born in Paddington, London, England.

1952 Pop singer Laura Branigan ("Gloria," "Self Control") is born. She is raised in Armonk, New York.

1951 Mike Corby (keyboardist/lead guitarist of The Babys, which he founded) is born in Windsor, Berkshire, England.

1947 Actress/singer Betty Buckley, Tony Award-winner for her role as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of Cats, is born in Big Spring, Texas.

1943 Judith Durham (lead singer of The Seekers) is born Judith Mavis C**k in Essendon, Victoria, Australia.

1940 Fontella Bass, known for the 1965 soul hit "Rescue Me," is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1929 David Lynch (of The Platters) is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

02/07/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, JULY 2ND

2015 For the first time ever, Rush make the cover of Rolling Stone. The magazine and their cohorts at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (which didn't induct the band until 2013), have given Rush short shrift throughout their career, but even diehard fans are pleased with the piece.

2005 Pink Floyd perform "Comfortably Numb" at the Live 8 London concert, re-forming with band members Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright for the first time since 1981, when Waters left the band. It's the last time the four play together, as Wright dies in 2008.

2001 Liverpool renames its airport the "Liverpool John Lennon Airport" after its famous native.

1994 Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong marries Adrienne Nesser. The next day, Adrienne discovers she is pregnant with their son, Joseph.

1992 Mick Jagger's daughter Jade makes him a grandfather when her daughter Assisi Lola Jackson is born.

1991 In his first acting role, Ice Cube stars alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. in the acclaimed drama Boyz N the Hood. Writer/director John Singleton wrote the role of troubled gangster Darrin "Doughboy" Baker specifically for the ex-N.W.A rapper.More

1988 Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana" hits #1 on the Hot 100, making him the first artist to score five #1 singles from the same album (Bad).

1986 The second Prince movie, Under the Cherry Moon, hits theaters. Unlike the first, Purple Rain, Prince directs it himself.More

1981 Bruce Springsteen plays the first of six sold-out shows at the new Byrne Arena in New Jersey. His average show lasts 28 songs.

1980 Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart and Bob Weir are arrested and charged with inciting a riot at San Diego Sports Arena to break up a drug bust.

1980 Sheena Easton is featured on the BBC show The Big Time, which follows regular people trying to achieve their dreams. With visions of stardom as a singer, she is seen auditioning for EMI, who are suitably impressed and sign her to a deal. Her single "9 To 5" becomes a UK hit two months later and conquers America a year later.

1976 A battered Tina Turner leaves husband Ike in Dallas, Texas, after one final blowout. She files for divorce later in the month.

1969 Mountain form in Long Island with former Vagrants member Leslie West at the helm.

1969 Barbra Streisand starts a month-long run of shows to open the new 2000-seat theater at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. She's breaking in the venue for Elvis Presley, who starts a run of shows there on July 31.

1967 Rick Nelson stars in the short-lived (it lasts three months) TV series Malibu U on ABC.

1963 Little-known Barbra Streisand plays Las Vegas for the first time, opening for Liberace at the Riviera. She returns to Vegas as a top draw in 1969, becoming the first artist to play the Showroom Internationale in the International Hotel.

1962 Jimi Hendrix is honorably discharged from the Army after serving a little over a year of his 3-year commitment. The reason for his discharge is "unsuitability," as his superiors agree he will never be a good soldier, in part because he's more interested in his guitar than his rifle.

1958 Elvis Presley's fourth movie, King Creole, opens while The King is serving in the Army. Elvis gets surprisingly good reviews for his acting.

1956 Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" at the RCA studios in New York City. Needing a B-side, Elvis and his team listen to some demos and find a song called "Don't Be Cruel," which they also record in the session. The two songs are released 11 days later as a double-A-side single and set numerous records for sales and chart position.

1955 The Lawrence Welk Show premieres on ABC.

1952 Johnny Colla, who plays guitar and saxophone for Huey Lewis & the News and also assists with songwriting, is born in Sacramento, California.

1949 Roy "The Professor" Bittan (keyboardist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) is born in Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York.

1939 Paul Williams (original lead singer for The Temptations) is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

1934 Folk singer Tom Springfield (of The Springfields) is born Dionysius P. A. O'Brien in Hampstead, London, England. He'll welcome sister Dusty Springfield a few years later.

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